Live on your phone
Make Live calls on Machine Mobile. The Live button, the full-screen call, the thumb bar, shrinking a call to a bar, the transcript sheet, and the microphone permission.
Live calls are made for phones: call a bot while you walk, explain the job, hang up, and it gets to work. For what Live is and how to set it up, see Live. This page covers what's different on a phone.
You need Machine Mobile 0.1.45 or later. To check, see Updates in Settings.
Start a call
Open a thread
Open the bot and the thread you want to talk about.
Tap the Live button
With the message box empty, tap the round sound-wave button at the right of the box. The first time, a tip explains it.
Allow the microphone
The first time, your phone asks to let Machine use the microphone. Tap Allow. On iPhone it says "Machine uses the microphone only during a Live call, so you can talk with your bot."
The first call for a bot
If the bot has no Glyph key yet, a sheet slides up: Talk with Writer live. Paste your Glyph key and tap Connect. "Only the first time. After this, Live starts with one tap." See Set up Glyph for where to get the key.
The call screen
| Part | What it does |
|---|---|
| ⌄ (top left) | Shrinks the call to a bar so you can use the app. |
| Name and status | The bot's name, then e.g. Speaking · 0:42 · Glyph: what's happening and how long you've been talking. |
| Mascot | Tap it to stop the bot talking. |
| Caption | What the bot is saying, with your last words below in quotes. |
| Tool cards | Pictures and results the bot made on the call. Swipe sideways to see more. |
| Thumb bar | The big buttons at the bottom. |
The thumb bar
Hands-free (the default):
| Button | Does |
|---|---|
| Stop | Stops the bot talking. Only works while it's speaking. |
| Tap to mute (big microphone) | Mutes you; it then says Muted. A ring around it follows your voice. |
| End (red) | Hangs up and saves the call to the thread. |
Hold to talk (Android only, if you chose it in Live settings):
| Button | Does |
|---|---|
| Mute / Unmute | Mutes you. |
| Hold to talk (big button) | The bot hears you only while you hold it. |
| End (red) | Hangs up. |
You feel a light tap when you press buttons, and a buzz when the call connects.
Shrink the call
Tap ⌄, or press Android's back button while the call is connecting or running. The call keeps going and becomes a pink bar at the top: Live · 1:23 · Writer — tap to return.
Use the app as normal, such as scrolling the thread or checking something else, and tap the bar to go back to the call. Tapping Live again in that thread also brings it back.
Hang up
Tap End. The status says Saving the call… for a moment, then the call closes and its transcript appears in the thread as a call card. The bot replies and does what you asked. See After the call.
The transcript sheet
Tap a call card in the thread to read the whole call in a sheet:
- Every line, with pictures the bot made.
- Call again starts a new call in the same thread.
- The copy button copies the whole transcript.
- Swipe down, tap outside, or press Android's back to close it.
Android back button
| When | Back does |
|---|---|
| On the Talk with Writer live (connect Glyph) or Couldn't reach Machine sheet | Closes the sheet; no call starts. |
| While the call is connecting, or during it | Shrinks it to the bar. |
| With the call shrunk | Works as normal in the app. |
| With a transcript sheet open | Closes the sheet. |
The screen stays on
During a call, Machine keeps your phone's screen awake.
iPhone and iPad
On iPhone and iPad, calls use a simpler connection to Glyph. You talk the same way, but the bot can't make pictures or search on the call, and the call screen says "Glyph's player isn't allowed in this app yet, so this call runs without Glyph's tools." Ask for pictures in the thread after the call.
Live settings don't apply on iPhone and iPad yet: every call is hands-free, with Glyph's default voice, whatever the bot's settings say. The thumb bar is always the hands-free one.
Microphone blocked?
If you said no to the microphone, the call shows "Machine can't use your microphone. Turn it on in your phone's Settings → Apps → Machine → Permissions, then try again."
- Android: Settings → Apps → Machine → Permissions → Microphone → Allow.
- iPhone: Settings → Machine → Microphone.
Then end the call and start it again. More fixes in Live troubleshooting.